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Ref: A) Bridgetown 95,
B) Bridgetown 49,
1. (U) Summary: Poloffs conducted a week-long commercial outreach
trip to St Kitts during diplmatic week February 18 to 22. Poloffs
met with lcal business leaders, government finance and invesment
officers, and hosted two receptions for thelocal American business
community, while promotig increased engagement among the private
sector irms in St Kitts and laying the foundation for the
development of a possible AmCham branch office. nd summary.
NEW SKIPA AGENCY BULLISH ON LOCAL BUSINESS INVESTMENT
2. (U) Mrs. Shawna Lake, who heads the recently established St.
Kitts Investment Promotion Authority (SKIPA), was bullish on
investment opportunities on the islands. SKIPA, established in
December, 2007 with the assistance of USAID, facilitates investment
by locals and foreigners alike by serving as a "one stop shop" for
all inbound investment, coordinating the investment procedures for
St. Kitts and Nevis. At the time of the meeting, about 16
interested parties had approached SKIPA for advice on investment:
mostly European, but also some locals and one U.S. Company. Lake
welcomed the idea of possibly forming an AmCham in St Kitts and
promised to provide Poloffs with information on American investment
in St Kitts and Nevis.
MEETING WITH EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK
3. (U) Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Sir K.
Dwight Venner, and Managing Director Mrs. Jennifer Nero spoke about
the activities of the ECCB, which is similar to the Federal Reserve,
with additional responsibility for/jurisdiction over the banking
system of its member states. The ECCB is headquartered in St. Kitts
with offices in each of its member states and has a total of 250
employees. Sir Dwight indicated that he would like to see more
US-based speakers come to the Eastern Caribbean region, suggested
that this could be a great marketing tool for the AmCham as speakers
come out to drive the message of entrepreneurship.
4. (U) Sir Dwight pointed out that the private sector in the OECS
is a little behind Barbados. He noted that partnerships were
occurring in non-traditional sectors of the economy, but at the same
time lamented that there is a dearth of information verification and
tabulation of accurate statistics. He noted that there is a program
with the International Monetary Fund to raise the quality of
statistics in the region, with the possibility of a regional
statistics bureau. He also said that the ECCB is looking into
tabulation of business statistics.
MEETING WITH MINISTRY OF HOUSING, AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES
5. (U) Mrs. Hermia Morton-Anthony, Permanent Secretary (PS) in the
Ministry of Housing, Agriculture and Fisheries, expressed interest
in professional training programs run by the USG, which they felt
would assist them in the development of agribusiness units in the
Federation. They also expressed interest in training from FAS to
help them export agro-processing products to the US. Ministry
officials highlighted their partnership with the US Peace Corps
through a workshop on meat preparation as well as other programs
with the UNDP and IICA. The PS noted that while programs dealing
with Youth at Risk are coordinated by the Ministry of Education, the
Ministry of Agriculture administered "Project Strong" which provided
social and vocational skills as well as internships at the
Ministry.
MEETING WITH ST KITTS TOURISM OFFICIALS AND TOURISM ASSOCIATION
7. (U) St. Kitts and Nevis Government Tourism officials highlighted
the development of eco-tourism and sports tourism opportunities and
promotion of major cultural events in the US market. They added that
they would appreciate getting assistance in tracking consumer trends
in good and services as well as data collection and statistics. The
president of the St Kitts Tourism Association, meanwhile, boasted a
membership of 17 hotels and 60 allied members. He added that the
Association will shortly undertake a membership drive to include
guesthouses and smaller accommodation spots. The Association is also
in a process of rejuvenation and restructuring. They are looking to
expand their portfolio into non-traditional areas such as hotel
marketing: something that has been largely ignored by the industry.
He lamented that while US arrivals had increased; UK/European and
Caribbean arrivals were down. He pointed out that the over-pricing
of LIAT was at the centre in the decrease in arrivals from the
region and he has been in contact with LIAT about the issue. He
added that LIAT CEO, Mark Darby said that the region has to get used
to high LIAT prices. He said that there are some small inter-island
flights between the Federation, St. Maarten and Antigua but added
that there was a need for increased capacity on these flights.
MEETING WITH ST. KITTS AND NEVIS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
10. (U) Mrs. Wendy Phipps, president of the local chamber of
commerce, highlighted the work of the Chamber, noting that the
Chamber had about 140 members; with 60% categorized as SMEs. She
added that the Chamber was also the Employers' representative in the
Federation. She pointed out that the Federation hosted around 750
businesses; with this number fluctuating. Mrs. Phipps said that the
Chamber welcomed special technical assistance on certain projects
for its members, particularly in the area of manufacturing. The
Chamber CEO also added that the Chamber hoped that there will be
movement on the Caribbean Partners Initiative project to improve
exchange of techniques and labor opportunities.
(U) Comment: This was a very successful trip as poloffs laid the
ground work for future commercial outreach efforts, through meetings
with key government officials involved in investment promotion as
well as meetings with the local chambers of commerce. All of our
interlocutors welcomed increased trade and investment, and were
optimistic about the future economic prospects of St Kitts and
Nevis. They also welcomed the possible establishment of a St Kitts
and Nevis AmCham branch.
Ourisman

Raw content

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000141
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EB/CBA - DENNIS WINSTEAD,
COMMERCE FOR FSC SANTO DOMINGO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMCHAM, ETRD, EINV, PREL, SC, XL
SUBJECT: COMMERCIAL OUTREACH TRIP TO ST KITTS, PART TWO
Ref: A) Bridgetown 95,
B) Bridgetown 49,
1. (U) Summary: Poloffs conducted a week-long commercial outreach
trip to St Kitts during diplmatic week February 18 to 22. Poloffs
met with lcal business leaders, government finance and invesment
officers, and hosted two receptions for thelocal American business
community, while promotig increased engagement among the private
sector irms in St Kitts and laying the foundation for the
development of a possible AmCham branch office. nd summary.
NEW SKIPA AGENCY BULLISH ON LOCAL BUSINESS INVESTMENT
2. (U) Mrs. Shawna Lake, who heads the recently established St.
Kitts Investment Promotion Authority (SKIPA), was bullish on
investment opportunities on the islands. SKIPA, established in
December, 2007 with the assistance of USAID, facilitates investment
by locals and foreigners alike by serving as a "one stop shop" for
all inbound investment, coordinating the investment procedures for
St. Kitts and Nevis. At the time of the meeting, about 16
interested parties had approached SKIPA for advice on investment:
mostly European, but also some locals and one U.S. Company. Lake
welcomed the idea of possibly forming an AmCham in St Kitts and
promised to provide Poloffs with information on American investment
in St Kitts and Nevis.
MEETING WITH EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK
3. (U) Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Sir K.
Dwight Venner, and Managing Director Mrs. Jennifer Nero spoke about
the activities of the ECCB, which is similar to the Federal Reserve,
with additional responsibility for/jurisdiction over the banking
system of its member states. The ECCB is headquartered in St. Kitts
with offices in each of its member states and has a total of 250
employees. Sir Dwight indicated that he would like to see more
US-based speakers come to the Eastern Caribbean region, suggested
that this could be a great marketing tool for the AmCham as speakers
come out to drive the message of entrepreneurship.
4. (U) Sir Dwight pointed out that the private sector in the OECS
is a little behind Barbados. He noted that partnerships were
occurring in non-traditional sectors of the economy, but at the same
time lamented that there is a dearth of information verification and
tabulation of accurate statistics. He noted that there is a program
with the International Monetary Fund to raise the quality of
statistics in the region, with the possibility of a regional
statistics bureau. He also said that the ECCB is looking into
tabulation of business statistics.
MEETING WITH MINISTRY OF HOUSING, AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES
5. (U) Mrs. Hermia Morton-Anthony, Permanent Secretary (PS) in the
Ministry of Housing, Agriculture and Fisheries, expressed interest
in professional training programs run by the USG, which they felt
would assist them in the development of agribusiness units in the
Federation. They also expressed interest in training from FAS to
help them export agro-processing products to the US. Ministry
officials highlighted their partnership with the US Peace Corps
through a workshop on meat preparation as well as other programs
with the UNDP and IICA. The PS noted that while programs dealing
with Youth at Risk are coordinated by the Ministry of Education, the
Ministry of Agriculture administered "Project Strong" which provided
social and vocational skills as well as internships at the
Ministry.
MEETING WITH ST KITTS TOURISM OFFICIALS AND TOURISM ASSOCIATION
7. (U) St. Kitts and Nevis Government Tourism officials highlighted
the development of eco-tourism and sports tourism opportunities and
promotion of major cultural events in the US market. They added that
they would appreciate getting assistance in tracking consumer trends
in good and services as well as data collection and statistics. The
president of the St Kitts Tourism Association, meanwhile, boasted a
membership of 17 hotels and 60 allied members. He added that the
Association will shortly undertake a membership drive to include
guesthouses and smaller accommodation spots. The Association is also
in a process of rejuvenation and restructuring. They are looking to
expand their portfolio into non-traditional areas such as hotel
marketing: something that has been largely ignored by the industry.
He lamented that while US arrivals had increased; UK/European and
Caribbean arrivals were down. He pointed out that the over-pricing
of LIAT was at the centre in the decrease in arrivals from the
region and he has been in contact with LIAT about the issue. He
added that LIAT CEO, Mark Darby said that the region has to get used
to high LIAT prices. He said that there are some small inter-island
flights between the Federation, St. Maarten and Antigua but added
that there was a need for increased capacity on these flights.
MEETING WITH ST. KITTS AND NEVIS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
10. (U) Mrs. Wendy Phipps, president of the local chamber of
commerce, highlighted the work of the Chamber, noting that the
Chamber had about 140 members; with 60% categorized as SMEs. She
added that the Chamber was also the Employers' representative in the
Federation. She pointed out that the Federation hosted around 750
businesses; with this number fluctuating. Mrs. Phipps said that the
Chamber welcomed special technical assistance on certain projects
for its members, particularly in the area of manufacturing. The
Chamber CEO also added that the Chamber hoped that there will be
movement on the Caribbean Partners Initiative project to improve
exchange of techniques and labor opportunities.
(U) Comment: This was a very successful trip as poloffs laid the
ground work for future commercial outreach efforts, through meetings
with key government officials involved in investment promotion as
well as meetings with the local chambers of commerce. All of our
interlocutors welcomed increased trade and investment, and were
optimistic about the future economic prospects of St Kitts and
Nevis. They also welcomed the possible establishment of a St Kitts
and Nevis AmCham branch.
Ourisman